Not every fine beer has to be an IPA, stout, or a pilsner, guys. Dig deeper.

A Few Words on the Beers Not in This Photo

A Few Words on the Beers Not in This Photo

Beer is beer, your piss-swilling friends claim. And sure, it's hard to really argue with that if all they truly like are lagers or pilsners or even white ales. You know your favorite craft brewery’s equivalents are vastly superior, but they won't see much of a difference (except for the higher price). So, instead of recommending an Allagash White over their Blue Moon, or a Jack’s Abby Hoponius Union over their Bud Heavy, why not try and turn your friends onto more oddball styles of beers? The following are utterly unique stylistic offerings that no billionaire-funded, multinational corporate behemoth would ever dare to brew...even though they probably should. Additionally, I’ve offered a recommended purchase or two that you should be able to locate without destroying your velcro wallet.

Eisbock

Eisbock

If you go to enough mainstream beer festivals, you’ll quickly notice the non-beer geek element in attendance only has one question. Yes, when they approach a random craft brewery’s lineup of beers, all they want to know is: “Which one’s the most alcoholic?” Indeed, American drinkers drink to get drunk, which makes me wonder why the boozy eisbock style isn’t more abundantly made for the masses. Anyone who has put warm beer in the freezer and then accidentally left it too long...only to find a far-more concentrated beer slush in its place, knows the potential for this style. But perhaps the reason it’s not made lies in the fact it’s technically illegal to brew (mainly because the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau considers it a form of distillation). Small microbreweries can get away with being scofflaws, I’m guessing Anheuser-Busch could not. And no, Bud Ice is not an example of the style.